Stage lighting has been important right back into the beginnings of theatre, the history of stage lighting began with stage lighting cues being written in to ancient Greek plays, to create a feeling for the time of day. Stage lighting is larger and more industrial than many other types of lighting, but just because it is big, don't think that it can't also be subtle. In theatre, stage lighting is used to drive the play - to create moods of drama, danger, sadness or joy. Lighting a theatre is incredibly complex and can involve vast numbers of stage and theatre lights, so getting it right is very important. Equally, stage lighting is needed in clubs and bars, at gigs, and in churches and schools. Because of the wide range of uses for modern stage lighting, there have evolved many different types on the market.
One of the most important things to consider when contemplating lighting on such a large scale as stage lighting is cost. Discount stage lighting equipment can be very useful for keeping costs down, so bear in mind when you are shopping for stage lighting that if you buy wisely you can achieve both high quality and low prices. For example combined sound and stage lighting systems are available, and are cheaper than buying the two separately. Also, you could consider buying second hand lights for your theatre or club lighting, as used stage lighting is cheaper than a new stage lighting system. A final option, if you were staging a one off production that required lighting, would be to hire stage lighting. Stage lighting sale and hire is a lucrative business, as amateur theatre groups, churches and primary schools are continuously needing to hire stage lighting equipment for nativity plays and pantomimes. Professional sound and stage lighting is, of course, in another class to those lights needed for amateur performances of this sort. Baltimore stage lighting will provide lights for any purpose - even weddings and funerals!
Pro stage lighting design may be covered by the producers and director of a play, or by the manager of a band. Stage lighting can be very creative, and the right arrangement of stag lights is vital to create the right effects - the right combination of strobe lights at a music festival, for example. Stage lighting CAD symbols are used to show what the layout of the different sorts of stage and theatre lights to be used in the display will be. In a club or at a gig, the vibrant colours created by LED stage lights are perfect for the purpose, but different sorts of powerful and intensely atmospheric stage lights, like strobe lights, are often used.
Setting up these huge lighting displays is of course a complex process, with huge stage lighting trusses required to rig stage lighting and equipment. Stage lighting truss manufacture is another side-shoot industry relying on the need of the consumer for large-scale stage lighting. The rigging of the huge scaffolding trusses needed to create stage lighting displays requires massive cranes and teams of workers.
Suppliers of stage lighting include Baltimore stage lighting (who have a huge and varied range), Cooksey stage lighting and Lycian stage lighting. But the brand is not important when it comes to stage lighting, whether it is inside or outdoors. The most important thing is to make effective use of the stage, theatre or club lights you have got, through clever design and the use of stage lighting techniques. An example of this would of course be to used red stage light to evoke anger, although there are of course many more subtle stage lighting techniques that go beyond this.
In theatre, stage lighting is used to drive the play - to create moods of drama, danger, sadness or joy